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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
05/02/2024 10:16 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=12291
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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 25, 2013 03:29 PM
From: Representative James R. Roebuck, Jr.
To: All House members
Subject: Re-introduction of Legislation to Compensate the Wrongfully Convicted
 
In the near future, I will be reintroducing legislation to Compensate the Wrongfully Convicted.

This legislation would compensate people who have been wrongfully convicted with damages as shown below:
  1. A sum equal to twice the amount of the gross wages of the plaintiff earned in the year prior to his arrest or $25,000, whichever is greater, for each year of wrongful imprisonment;
  2. Reasonable attorney fees and court costs incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the wrongful conviction; and
  3. Restitution of all fines, surcharges and penalties incurred by the plaintiff as a result of the wrongful conviction.

According to the Innocence Project, there have been 265 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States; six of those occurring in Pennsylvania. Unvalidated or improper forensic science played a role in approximately 50 percent of those DNA exonerations. With technological advances, there is sure to be no shortage of innocent men and women languishing in prison who, if they are able to sustain the arduous process of proving their innocence, must then file costly, hard-to-win lawsuits to rebuild their lives.

If you have any questions, please contact my office at 783-1000 or email aedwards@pahouse.net. Thank you in advance for your support.

Introduced as HB1168